Human Conflict is Pushing Gorillas Into Extinction – What You Can Do to Save These Animals

Jul 26, 2016 | Jerald Pinson
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The DRC contains two-thirds of the Congo rainforest, and the many years of governmental neglect and conflict has led to the near extinction of one of the forests largest inhabitants: the Eastern Lowland Gorilla. In order for local militias to support their campaigns during the Congolese War, their leaders would establish mining camps deep in the jungle to exploit the natural resources the land harbored, such as gold and cassiterite, a mineral used in the production of tin. But feeding a contingent of miners is no easy task, and most often the nearest available food was whatever could be hunted in the surrounding forest. Because of their relatively large size, gorillas were often a prized food source, and as a result, the number of Eastern Lowland Gorillas within their natural range has decreased from approximately 17,000 in 1998 to only about 3,800 measured just this year.

Now that the war is over, however, the mining operations continue, often illegally. This, in conjunction with deforestation and the illegal animal trade, means that we are in immediate danger of losing the lowland gorilla, which has been on the IUCN endangered list since 2008.